Truss



1.. B.- BQWIE March 30 1926.

TRUSS Filed Oct. 7, 1921 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 March 30 1926.-

L. B. BOWIE TRUSS Patented Mar. 30, I926.

UNITED STATES LUCIEN B. BOWIE, or PHILADELPHIA, LBENN'SYLVANIA.

amiss.

Application filed October To all whom it mag concern:

Be it known that I, LUCIEN B. Bowm, a

citizen of the United States, residing in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, have invented certain Improvements in Trusses, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in trusses, the object of my invention being to provide a truss of improved and novel form insuring comfort to the wearer and a proper .support to the ruptured part. Another ob- "taching straps illustrating the manner of I of.

taching thestraps 8, 9 and 10, by means of bent away from the ject of the invention .is to provide atruss havlng no deteriorating corrodible parts.

"A further object is to. provide novel and improved means for attaching to. the truss pad the'straps by means of which the pad is secured to the body.

In the attached drawings:

Figure 1, is a view in perspective, of the, V pad with the straps detached; g

Fig. 2, isa transverse section through thepad and the contiguous portions of, the at securing the straps to the pad;

Fig. 3, is an outline view of a portion of the human body illustrating the manner in which the trussis applied;

Fig. 4:, is a view in perspective'of a modifled form .of the'pad';

Figs. 5 and 6,are transverse sections of.

thepad illustrating modified means forsecuring the straps to the-pad, and

I Fig. 7, isa fragmentary perspective of' a portion of'the straps illustrating the preferred method of attaching one strap to anotherf.

With reference to Figs. 1, 2 and 3 of the drawings, the truss comprises a pad 1 having a substantially flat base portion 2, from the edges of which extends substantially at i right angles to the plane of the base por-.

tion, a flange 3. In the present instance, the

base portion 2 is substantially circular in form, the flange 3 extending around approximately 27 0 of the circumferencethere of, and the base plate 2 comprises a portion 4 extending outwardly between the ends of;

the flange 3, which portion preferably is plane of the said base on the flanged side. 1

In the rear of the flange 3 is a pair of par allel slots 5, 5, and similar slots 6, 6, and 7, 7, are formed in the flange 3 at each side there- These slots provide a means for at- 7, 1921.. Serial no. 508,114.

-whichthe pad 1 is held place against the ruptured part of the body. V As best shownin Fig. 2, the ends of the respective straps are inserted through the respeotive pairs of slots, the ends in the present instance being carried upwardly over the edge ofthe'flange 3 so that the straps in passing over the flange" will bear down upon I their respective ends and cla'mpthem firmly against "withd'rawal. .Thismethod of attaching the straps while entirely secure greatly facilitates attaching anddetaching the straps to and from the pad.

The pal is intended to be applied in the manner illustrated in'Fig. 3, the strap 10 passingdown under the crotch and attaching at, the back tooneor other'of the straps 9 and'8 which extend around the hips." The ends of the straps 8 and 9 maybe secured I together by any desired means, in the present instance therebeing employeda buckle 11 of aluminum, hard rubber or other nonas vulcanizedrubber, aluminum or the like.

In the modification of Fig.4, I have 11- corrodible'material. The pad itselfis pref; J y f non-corrodible niateriahsuoh lustrated the flan e 3 corres oondin to the flange 3in the aforedescribed pad extending completely around the periphery of the base plate 2 that portion of the flange lying uppermost when the pad is applied to the body beinglbent inwardly at the top towards" the center of the pad to avoid the presentation ofa sharp top edge to the abdomen when the bodyis bent forward. This form of pad has an advantage in the factthat the said upper portion of the flange 3 provides an easy means for grasping the pad through the clothing to replace itin the ruptured part. I

In Fig. 5, I have illustrated a further event of possible displacement from' the means for securing the straps to the pad, in

this instance a single strap 11 replacing the two straps 8, and 9, said strap 11 being passed through both pairs of side slots 6,

6 and 7 7-, and extending across theintenor of the pad, the opposite free ends of the strap 11 being joined together winfiany not shown. In this instance the strap 10 wvhich passes under the crotch is passed outwardly through the upper of the two, slots 5 and inwardly through thelower of the slots, the free end lying in the interior of the pad,

suitable manner, as by means of a buckle m this having been found an etiicient way to secure the end of the strap to the pad.

In Fig. 6, a still further method of securing the straps is illustrated, this method lending itself particularly to the elimination of all buckles or other securing means for the straps. In this instance asingle strap 12replaces the aforesaid straps 8 and .9 in the same manner as does the strap 11 of the afo'redescribed modification, but in this instance the free ends of the strap 12 are passed, as shown, outwardly through the upper of the pairs of slots 6 6, and 7 7 and inwardly into the'interior of the pad through the lower of these pairs of slots, thereby forming a closed loop which, in'applying the truss to the body, may be passed over the head or upwardly around the legs, In this instance the crotch strap 10 is in the form of a single strap doubled on itself with the free ends inserted through the slots 5, 5 as clearly shown, one end of the strap having previously been passed through a pair of slits 18 and 14 formed in a loop 15 of a material wider than the strap 10 said loop being passed over the strap 12 and securing the strap 1O thereto. It will be noted that in this modification no buckle or other securing means is required, nor any stitching of the retainin strains.

The truss has been found to possess'nu morons advantages over the types in general use. As previously described, the base 2 is substantially flat, or it may be convexed to conform to the curve of the body, so that while providing a firm holdback for the rupture, there is nothing projecting into the rupture and tending to separate the muscles;

lily employing the flange 3 over the top edge of which the straps pass, a greater leverage is obtained than were the straps attached directly to the sides of the base portion 2, this additional advantage insuring a firm pressure of the pad against the rupture. Further the upturned portion 4 of the part 2 or the inturned portion of-the flange 3 presents a curved surface to the body, and prevents the edges of the base portion from digging into theflesh.

Furthermore, and as previously described, the method of attaching the straps to the pad greatly facilitates their removal and the application of other straps, and since these parts worn continually against the body quickly become foul, this will be recognizedas a point of great advantage] The pad itself is of extremely simple form and easily cleaned, and by employing a number of sets of straps, it is possible to quickly and easily apply a new, clean set in place of a set removed for cleaning purposes. The extreme simplicity of the device is also pointed out with the corresponding manufacturing advantages, and the entire absence of any corrodible metal or f'rigid parts other than right is reserved to all modifications within the scope of the invention.

I claim:

A truss comprising a pad having a substantially flat workingface and a substantially annular flange extending backwardly from the edge of said face, said flange over a portion of its circumference being substantially perpendicular to the working face and over the remainder of its circumference being inclined inwardly, substantially as de- I scribed.

LUCIEN B. BOWIE. 

